Grounding the electric fence

An electric fence is a good choice for a farm animal because not only it can be erected in no time but it can also cover a big surface with less money than a traditional wood fence. An electric fence is much more indicated for sheep farmers than a barbed wire fence because the sheep will not have a problem with catching their wool or harming the fleece. For installing an electric fence, only one person is enough and he doesn’t need to have special skills.

Instructions

The distance between the t-posts doesn’t have to be more than 10-foot. Use t-post pounders to place them over the top of each post for helping you bury them into soil.

Each post will need to have installed 5 t-post insulators. They will keep the wire on the t-post and the hot wire away from the metal pole. The number of insulators should correspond to the number of wires. After the installation, you can add additional strands of wire and you should have more than 5 in the end. The first strand of wire should be at 6 inches from the ground and each two strands need to have a distance of 8 inches between them.

Start wiring the area by wrapping the wire from the t-post insulator of the first pole and run it across the entire field. You don’t have to anchor the wire on every post because the hook will be sufficient for keeping the wire in place. Each wire should have a steady tension for preventing sagging. You don’t need any type of tool for this, just your hands.

At the end, cut the extra wire and leave an empty space between the first and the last post to make an entry. For anchoring the wire, just wrap it from the loop of the t-post insulator.

All the previous steps have to be repeated for all t-post insulators.

A piece of wire is needed for every open section, with an extra inch in the end to wrap it onto the connectors.

You should use one side of the entry wire to wrap it to the t-post connector for anchoring. Pay attention not to connect the wire to the fence strands.

The free end of the entry “gate” wire should be wrapped from a door handle connector.

A piece of wire should be used to create a loop and wrap it to the open end of the t-post. Connect the wire door loops to the fence for electrifying the closed “gate”. If you don’t connect the side of the entry to the fence strands, the entry wires will not be electrified, just the containment fence will.

The fence charger will need to be installed accordingly. If you have an electrified powered charger than you need a power source nearby but if you have a solar powered charger than the sun’s power need to be accessible. Every charger will need to have a grounding, so connect a piece of wire from the charging unit and the metal spike set into the ground. Another piece of wire should run from the electrical part of the fence charger to the first t-post.

A new piece of wire should be used to fit the fence from bottom to top for wrapping all the wires, starting from the first t-post. This wire will need to be connected to the one coming from the charger.

Use a fence line tester to check the wires. If you see that lines have no power, search for any grass, weed or debris that may ground the electricity out.

Tips

Don’t use wires that were not made especially for electric fencing. If you have someone that is handling the sheep, then you should tell him everything about the door connectors and the power for the charging unit. If there is a thunderstorm, stay as far as you can from any electric fence. One fence charger is more than enough for a fence section because otherwise they could cause injuries to people than come in contact with any one of them.

An electric fence is a good choice for a farm animal because not only it can be erected in no time but it can also cover a big surface with less money than a traditional wood fence. An electric fence is much more indicated for sheep farmers than a barbed wire fence because the sheeps will not have a problem with catching their wool or harming the fleece. For installing an electric fence, only one person is enough and he doesn’t need to have special skills.

Instructions

1) The distance between the t-posts doesn’t have to be more than 10-foot. Use t-post pounders to place them over the top of each post for helping you bury them into soil.
2) Each post will need to have installed 5 t-post insulators. They will keep the wire on the t-post and the hot wire away from the metal pole. The number of insulators should correspond to the number of wires. After the installation, you can add additional strands of wire and you should have more than 5 in the end. The first strand of wire should be at 6 inches from the ground and each two strands need to have a distance of 8 inches between them.
3) Start wiring the area by wrapping the wire from the t-post insulator of the first pole and run it across the entire field. You don’t have to anchor the wire on every post because the hook will be sufficient for keeping the wire in place. Each wire should have a steady tension for preventing sagging. You don’t need any type of tool for this, just your hands.
4) At the end, cut the extra wire and leave an empty space between the first and the last post to make an entry. For anchoring the wire, just wrap it from the loop of the t-post insulator.
5) All the previous steps have to be repeated for all t-post insulators.
6) A piece of wire is needed for every open section, with an extra inch in the end to wrap it onto the connectors.
7) You should use one side of the entry wire to wrap it to the t-post connector for anchoring. Pay attention not to connect the wire to the fence strands.
8) The free end of the entry “gate” wire should be wrapped from a door handle connector.
9) A piece of wire should be used to create a loop and wrap it to the open end of the t-post. Connect the wire door loops to the fence for electrifying the closed “gate”. If you don’t connect the side of the entry to the fence strands, the entry wires will not be electrified, just the containment fence will.
10) The fence charger will need to be installed accordingly. If you have an electrified powered charger than you need a power source nearby but if you have a solar powered charger than the sun’s power need to be accessible. Every charger will need to have a grounding, so connect a piece of wire from the charging unit and the metal spike set into the ground. Another piece of wire should run from the electrical part of the fence charger to the first t-post.
11) A new piece of wire should be used to fit the fence from bottom to top for wrapping all the wires, starting from the first t-post. This wire will need to be connected to the one coming from the charger.
12) Use a fence line tester to check the wires. If you see that lines have no power, search for any grass, weed or debris that may ground the electricity out.

Tips

Don’t use wires that were not made especially for electric fencing. If you have someone that is handling the sheep, then you should tell him everything about the door connectors and the power for the charging unit. If there is a thunderstorm, stay as far as you can from any electric fence. One fence charger is more than enough for a fence section because otherwise they could cause injuries to people than come in contact with any one of them.